I am tracking a cold front that is moving south through South Dakota this afternoon. The low is centered over northern Minnesota and a trough of low pressure extends south into Iowa. The leading edge of the clouds was along the trough. Here is the surface map from this afternoon.

As the cold front swings through Iowa tonight it will be cloudy with a few flurries possible. The cold front also reinforces the cold air in place with highs mainly in the teens Thursday. As the low/front move east, the clouds will clear from west to east during the afternoon Thursday.

Friday-Sunday: High temperatures during this time will be in the mid-upper 20s. A cold front is forecast to cross the state similar to the one tonight with clouds and a few flurries. The temperatures behind the front Saturday will not be colder.

Monday-Wednesday: High temperatures will reach 30 degrees and may be a few degrees above that. It will be dry during this time. There will be more clouds Wednesday with some possible precipitation Thursday next week. The map below shows the precipitation forecast from Wednesday evening to Wednesday evening.

The warmer weather will not last long. The GFS model is showing colder air will move south again by the end of the week and into the weekend of January 10. The map below is for Saturday morning January 10.

1999: A significant snowstorm on January 1-3 dropped a statewide average of 8.6 inches of snow across Iowa, accounting for nearly two thirds of the total snow that would fall that January. It was the largest statewide average snowfall in nearly 20 years since the storm of January 11-13, 1979. Nearly every reporting station northeast of a line from Pocahontas to Keokuk received 10 or more inches of snow and southwest of this line 7 to 10 inches of snow was common in all but far southwestern Iowa, where generally 3 to 6 inches fell. Some of the higher storm total accumulations included 13.0 inches at Mason City and Muscatine, 13.5 inches at Eldora, 14.0 inches at Mount Pleasant, 14.5 inches at Fort Madison, 15.0 inches at Clinton, and 17.5 inches at Burlington.

This Day in National/World Weather History …

2 January 1777 → Extreme cold froze muddy fields near Trenton, NJ and allowed George Washington to escape the British and seek safe shelter in Pennsylvania.

2 January 1920 → South America’s hottest temperature on record, 120 degrees, was measured at Villa de Maria, Argentina.